McLaren’s CEO Zak Brown makes £37.3 million after F1 title win

[LONDON] McLaren Racing Limited chief executive officer Zak Brown pocketed £37.3 million (US$50.3 million) last year after winning the Formula One team title for the first time since 1998, making him one of the sports industry’s best-paid bosses.

The remuneration for the team’s highest-paid director jumped from £26.4 million the year before, accounts filed at UK registry Companies House show. A McLaren spokesperson confirmed that this director is Brown. Total pay for key management more than doubled to £75.7 million, with the bulk of it coming from share-based payments.

The 53-year-old’s group is aiming to repeat last year’s success by winning the team title again but it is also targeting individual championship victory with one of its drivers, Lando Norris or Oscar Piastri. They are currently leading this season’s standings.

Last year’s success helped drive revenue for the group, which also has an IndyCar team, up 23 per cent to £530.3 million. Pretax profit more than tripled to £37.5 million.

It comes after McLaren was valued at more than £3 billion in a stake sale last month, underscoring investor bullishness about the sport. The owners of McLaren Group Limited – Bahrain sovereign wealth fund Mumtalakat and Abu Dhabi-based CYVN Holdings – took full control of the racing team, buying out minority investors including MSP Sports Capital.

F1 has surged in popularity in recent years, particularly in the US. Executives including Brown have hailed the impact that the Netflix documentary series Formula 1: Drive to Survive has had on the sport, winning it new fans. The recent F1: The Movie, starring Brad Pitt, is expected to widen the sport’s appeal even more. BLOOMBERG